How Bad Is It To Eat Raw Cookie Dough?
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Did you ever try to steal some cookie dough from Mom’s mixing bowl, only to have your hand smacked? As kids, we were told that this supremely satisfying sweet treat was forbidden because it could make us sick. Now, as adults, we’re surrounded by artisanal edible cookie dough brands and new “safe-to-enjoy-raw” versions of classic cookie dough.
But still, we have to ask: what was so bad about the dough in Mom’s mixing bowl? Is eating raw homemade cookie dough really that dangerous?
As a long-time cookie dough lover and developer of Delish’s edible cookie dough recipe, I’ve taken many deep dives into the art and science of edible cookie dough. For this story, I consulted with Rosemary Trout, program director of culinary arts and food science at Drexel University, to get the full scoop (pun intended!) on cookie dough's potential dangers. Here’s everything you need to know about raw cookie dough and how you can enjoy this nostalgic treat worry-free.
The Danger in the Dough
I hate to break it to you but Mom was right. According to Trout, “it’s not recommended that people consume raw cookie dough, mainly because...uncooked, unpasteurized eggs can contain pathogenic bacteria like salmonella.”
While salmonella exists in only 1 in every 20,000 eggs, it can cause serious intestinal illness, and even potential death for people who are elderly, young, or immuno-compromised. But the problems don’t stop there.
In addition to potential dangerous bacteria in the eggs, the flour in the dough can also be an issue. You see, flour is made from an agricultural product (wheat) that’s grown outside and processed without any attempts to decontaminate it. According to Trout, this means that “some pathogens [like E. Coli] may remain” in the raw flour that we buy in the grocery store. Not surprisingly, these pathogens can be just as dangerous as any salmonella lurking in the raw eggs.
So if you thought vegan eggless cookie dough was safe, you’re out of luck.
The dangers of consuming raw cookie dough are real, but don’t hit the panic button just yet. There are definitely still ways to get your cookie dough fix. Here are your options:
Store-Bought Cooke Dough Solutions
In an attempt to answer the cravings of an entire generation of cookie dough lovers, several commercial brands have started selling edible cookie dough. Brands such as Pillsbury have recently modified their ready-to-bake cookie dough so it’s now safe to consume raw as well as cooked. Tollhouse have expanded their product lines to include cookie dough that’s specifically meant to be eaten raw.
Newer brands such DO and Doughp have been launched items specifically to capitalize on this trendy corner of the dessert market. All these commercial products are made with pasteurized eggs (or none at all!) and use heat-treated flour (more on that below!) so they’re safe for consumption.
These store-bought solutions are great if all you want is your cookie dough fix. But what if you’re craving the nostalgia of sneaking spoonfuls from the mixing bowl in your own kitchen? Then you might consider this next option...
Make Your Own Cooke Dough
As the developer of Delish’s best edible cookie dough recipe, I can personally promise that making edible cookie dough is just as easy as making regular cookie dough. And it’s definitely cheaper than buying it at the store! If you look at my recipe, you’ll notice it’s pretty similar to any standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, with a couple of key exceptions:
Heat-Treating the Flour
While some companies sell heat-treated flour, it’s a specialty product that's not typically available in most grocery stores. With that in mind, I included directions for the heat-treating process in this recipe. It’s not hard: simply add the flour to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it in 15-second bursts, stirring between intervals, until the center of the flour reaches 160 degrees when a probe thermometer is inserted. Let the flour cool completely, and it’s good to go.
No Eggs or Leaveners
Rather than call for pasteurized eggs (which also aren’t available in most grocery stores), I chose to omit the eggs entirely. A little heavy cream brings the necessary moisture and richness the eggs would have provided, but it doesn’t have the same binding power, which is the reason I don’t recommend trying to bake this dough! With that in mind, I also left out the leavener.
Use All Brown Sugar
In a baked cookie, some granulated sugar is necessary to provide those crisp edges that most of us crave. But since the cookie’s baked texture wasn’t a factor here, I opted for all brown sugar. The additional molasses that brown sugar offers helps maximize the deep caramelized flavors that we all love and associate with a really great chocolate chip cookie.
Mini Chocolate Chips
When a typical cookie bakes, its chocolate chips partially melt and integrate with the cookie, remaining just distinct enough to provide a nice textural contrast to the cookie’s tender crumb. But in cookie dough, where the chocolate chips were completely whole (and often still very cold), I found that a regular-size chocolate chip was just too overwhelming– both in texture and flavor. Mini chocolate chips, on the other hand, provided tiny bursts of chocolate and pleasant (appropriately-sized) nuggets of crunch, without threatening to take over the entire bite.
Whether you buy it at the grocery store or make your own, there are definitely safe ways to get your cookie dough fix. What’s your favorite way to eat cookie dough? Do you form it into chocolate-covered bites, use it to make ice cream sandwiches or eat straight from the spoon? Let me know in the comments below!
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